Police: Suspect Aimed At Officers, They Fired

Lighthouse Point Man Critical, Shot Twice By Police

LIGHTHOUSE POINT — A South Florida chiropractor shot wildly at an apartment building and took aim at Lighthouse Point police officers Sunday before one of them shot and critically wounded him, police said.

Xavier Maurice Escobar, 39, of Lighthouse Point, was taken to North Broward Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition, shot in the arm and stomach, according to police spokesman Commander Mike Oh.

Officers said they had arrested Escobar before and are investigating whether he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The shooting occurred at the police station, 3701 NE 22nd Ave., and at an apartment building across the street.

A resident of the apartment building said he heard someone banging on his door at about 3 a.m. and, looking through a peep hole, saw a man with a gun.

"I thought I'd better call 911 and duck," said Al Jorrin, 44. He went to his kitchen and away from the window.

Jorrin said he heard the man saying, "Help me, help me," and pounding on his door and his neighbor's door. Then he heard gunshots.

"I live in Lighthouse Point across from the police station," Jorrin said. "If you can't be safe here, where can you be?"

A police dispatcher could also hear the shots, and saw a man outside the police station with a gun, Oh said. His image was recorded on a surveillance camera.

"I heard police telling him to put down his gun," said Mario Castillo, 48, who said he also woke up to Escobar pounding on his door. Castillo lives in the apartment complex with his wife and daughter, who was not home at the time.

The officer who returned fire and wounded Escobar, Sgt. Curt Lai, 40, is a nine-year veteran of the force, Oh said. As is standard for all officers involved in shootings, Lai was placed on paid administrative leave.

The police station is locked after 11 p.m. and there was no way for Escobar to get inside, said Police Chief Ross Licata. Police were investigating why Escobar was armed with the semi-automatic handgun and why he approached the apartment residents and the police station.

Escobar was arrested in 2005, when Lighthouse Point police charged him with discharging a firearm in public and using a weapon under the influence of alcohol. The case's outcome could not be determined Sunday.

Records from the Florida Department of Health show that Escobar maintained his chiropractor's license, which expires in March, after the arrest. Escobar works out of Florida Atlantic Orthopedics in Boca Raton. A woman who answered the phone at the office Sunday said no one was available for comment.

State records show Escobar is also listed in state records as an officer in All Florida Pain Management Inc., in Pompano Beach.

Escobar has a bachelor's degree in chemical science from Florida Atlantic University and a doctor of chiropractic degree from Life University in Georgia that he obtained in 2000, according to the Department of Health records.

Two women who answered the door at his house declined to comment on the shooting, but said Escobar is a father of two. The two-story, waterfront house in the 3900 block of Northeast 25th Avenue, is appraised at $1.3 million, according to the Broward County Property Appraiser's website.

"We are praying for him because he is in the ICU," added one of the women, who declined to give her name. "That is where we are right now."

Lighthouse Point police said if he survives, Escobar will be charged with one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of shooting into a dwelling.

Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Rachel Hatzipanagos can be reached at rhatzipanagos@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4543.